Hello /diy/. I come to you today with a perplexing problem. I need to smash this big piece of obsidian into smaller, more workable chunks.
I do not have acess to any power tools that would be able to cut anything this large. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
Smash it with another rock.
That's how they used to do it.
>>902140
leave it in a river for about a thousand million years. take it out when it has eroded to a usable size
>power tools
do you have access to normal tools?
bolster chisel and a club hammer.
>>902140
Ask you're mum to sit on it.
>>902140
tap it with a hammer along a straight line
tap tap tap until it breaks
>>902143
Yeah and i can buy that chisel too. I just cant buy big power tools because of where i live.
>>902145
How big of a hammer are we talking
>>902140
Obsidian is basically glass. It's easy to break. Just throw it at something. Or throw something at it.
Google "knapping" for how-to's on ways to break it up more precisely.
>>902156
I think knapping is more for shaping obsidian, im just trying to break it into chunks so i can make jewelry with it
>>902140
You obviously need a diamond pickaxe.
>>902140
Have you tried hitting your rock with a bigger rock?
Is that really obsidian?
>>902152
big enough to tap
>>902140
Do this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwPuXfp_WdA
Take some metal rods with a point and start hammering them in. Eventually you'll get some manageable sizes and just break them up precisely with a hammer from there. The rod thing is pretty much how they crack boulders and stuff for masonry.
>>902140
that's not obsidian. if it was you would have shattered it the moment you dropped it, not to mention the color is off. if you paid for that, I'm sorry but you got fucked, if you didn't, find out what it is before you sell "obsidian" to people. and don't try fucking telling me that I don't know what I'm talking about, I've taken too many classes on fucking rocks to forget this shit. it's not even useful knowledge.
>>902190
kekk
>>902140
strongly suggest safety glasses/goggles, stone shards in eyes are no fun.
>>902355
I never said i dropped it lol, i dont want obsidian shards anyways i want chunks. Heres another picture that isnt the rough side of it.
This stone was found by my mother near Yellowstone park in the 80's. We know its obsidian, im the only one who wants to use it for anything other than a doorstep decoration.
Next time you post anywhere, try acting like an adult. Heres another picture.
>>902362
>>902333
>>902323
Ill try this i think, this or the chisel/hammer method. Its hard to get any good picture of this rock because it shines from every damn angle
>>902355
Ill post a couple more pics of where it has chipped like glass so that you can think about going back to rock school before acting like some dude off of pawn stars
>>902355
I just feel bad that you dont know what youre talking about desu.
For a piece of obsidian that size. You are gonna have to use abrasion tools or tools that are low as impact, vibration, and heat.
Looks like obsidian to me. You will need polishing tools to ever make anything pretty out of it. And a 5 gallon bucket of elbow grease.
>>902144
5 star post
>>902210
Seriously do this. Get a large hard rock that comes to a small end, and bash that obsidian solidly in the middle. It will fracture into large chunks, it's not going to shatter. Also looks like it's full of ash or some other shit.
>>902185
That's step one when your knapping.
>>902156
Listen to this guy. He really knows his schist.
>>902849
>>902140
>obsidian
hammer and chisel should do just fine, be careful not to shatter it though
Thank you all for your time and advice, im going to attempt some of the methods described in this thread and find out which one suits my needs best.
Im not going to smash my rock with another rock, we have tools. Sorry to dissapoint all of the neandrathal enthusiasts.
I will post the results of each method i try and we can all get a look inside the obsidian to see if it looks as weird on the inside as it does the outside
Knap it. With a harder stone
Obsidian will fracture into flakes.
Or use a rock hammer.
>guys how do i make this one rock into two smaller rocks?
>op can not be bothered to literally do pic
>>902140
Why did you put it on your cock?
>>902323
god damn americans jesus christ
>>903004
You could look into the tools actually used to work this stuff in the past for ideas.
A popular one was to use a hard, rounded stone like a piece of granite to make the major breaks, and then do finer work with a polished knob of deer antler. You want something that will allow you to direct a fair amount of force in a small area.
You want to strike at an angle to the break you want to make. Look up "conchoidal fracturing". Force will propagate out in a cone from where you strike this stuff, so you want one edge of the cone to be aligned along where you want the breakage to be.
Obsidian is also sharp as fuck and throws little glass splinters when shattered. Eye protection and leather gloves are recommended.
>>902140
>wants to work with obsidian
>doesnt have any tools
>>902143
>thousand million
>billion
OCD triggered
>>906662
for some of us, billion is a million times a million
>>906669
>billion is a million times a million
>>906677
what?
>>906692
You cannot be serious.
>>906709
a million is a thousand of a thousand
a billion is a million of million
>>906709
No, YOU cannot be serious.
>>906677
It is in spanish.
>>906723
Oh.
>>906713
even the british use the american system now anon
we lost this one
but i agree with you a thousand million is a stupid way to measure a billion
